Postmedia nets three National Newspaper Awards

Women take a stand against domestic violence on Sept. 23, 2015, as Basil Borutski appeared in court to face first-degree murder charges. The Ottawa Citizen's newsroom was honoured with a National Newspaper Award for its coverage of the crime and its victims.Darren Brown / Ottawa Citizen

Postmedia’s newspapers won three National Newspaper Awards on Friday, earning recognition for their sports coverage, columns and coverage of breaking news.

Vicki Hall, John Kryk and Scott Stinson of Postmedia’s newly combined national sports team won the NNA for best sports coverage for their series on concussions. Inspired by the death of Ottawa teenager Rowan Stringer, who suffered a concussion and second-impact syndrome while playing rugby, the series investigated the lack of concussion protocols in Canadian youth sports.

The Ottawa Citizen’s newsroom was honoured in the Breaking News category for its coverage of the killing of three women in the Ottawa Valley. Basil Borutski faces three first-degree murder charges in the killings, and the Citizen’s coverage explored not only the crimes, but whether the justice system failed his victims.

Michelle Hauser of the Kingston Whig-Standard won in the Columns category for her work on sex education and the elderly.

“The work of our NNA winners and finalists represents the depth of talent at Postmedia and our commitment to producing important, compelling stories to serve our readers,” said Gerry Nott, Postmedia’s senior vice-president of content. “I’m very proud of all of our journalists, their professionalism and hunger for great reporting.”

The awards were handed out at a ceremony in Edmonton on Friday evening, where Postmedia had 11 other finalists.

The Ottawa Citizen’s Don Butler was a finalist in the Politics category for his coverage of the Harper government’s plans to build a memorial to the victims of Communism; Kate Heartfield was a finalist for her editorials; and David Pugliese, a three-time NNA winner for beat reporting, was again nominated for his coverage of the Canadian military.

The National Post’s Claudia Cattaneo was a finalist in the Business category for her coverage of the Canadian energy sector’s struggles, and Mike Faille and Dean Tweed were Presentation finalists for their infographics.

The Saskatoon StarPhoenix’s Kevin Mitchell was a Sports finalist for his story on a football team dealing with tragedy, and Gord Waldner was a finalist for his photo of a bullrider being rammed by a bull.

Postmedia’s other finalists were the Calgary Herald’s newsroom, nominated in the Breaking News category for coverage of an Amber Alert sparked by a missing toddler, and the Stratford Beacon Herald, nominated in the Local Reporting category for coverage of a teacher denied time off to accompany his 90-year-old father to the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands.

The Globe and Mail led all papers with nine NNA wins. Joanna Slater, a Globe foreign correspondent, won Journalist of the Year for her coverage of the Syrian refugee crisis in Europe.

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